Possible New Phil Material

YELLOW SPRINGS — Thanks to renewed funding from Ohio Humanities, public radio station WYSO 91.3 FM will continue its award-winning Rediscovered Radio series, this time exploring the Vietnam Conflict.

From recorded speeches given in Yellow Springs and Dayton (ranging from President Lyndon B. Johnson to poet Robert Bly) to musical performances from the likes of Pete Seeger and Phil Ochs to three reels of interviews with radical lawyer William Kunstler, who defended the Chicago Seven, this treasure trove of material has not been heard since its original broadcast on WYSO 40 to 50 years ago.

In 2013, with funding from Ohio Humanities, WYSO launched Rediscovered Radio, creating a year’s worth ofradio programs focused on the rich legacy of social justice activism in the region with archival audio from the station’s vast archive as a basis for each story. It was both a glimpse of the Civil Rights era and a call to action for citizens today to evaluate how far we have come. The series had received both state and national journalism awards.

“Producer Jocelyn Robinson and editor Katie Davis created a series of stories that recall the Civil Rights period in our local history and bring those voices back to life,” says WYSO General Manager Neenah Ellis. “We are eager to continue this work on behalf of our listeners.”

“We are grateful to Ohio Humanities for continuing this partnership,” says WYSO Development Director Luke Dennis. “This funding will allow these historic voices, many of which were recorded right here in Ohio in the ’60s and ’70s, to be heard by thousands of contemporary listeners.”

Over a period of 20 months, producers trained in WYSO’s Community Voices program will create feature-length radio pieces. The archival audio will be complemented by interviews with contemporary humanities experts, and each story, along with supplementary material will be available at http://www.wyso.org.